How important is Alcohol?

[kdonnel]

This is a big problem with cruise-ship alcohol packages too. Everyone of age in a cabin MUST pay for the package; it can’t be purchased by a single drinker. LOTS of people don’t drink, for whatever reason.

I understand the cruise ship policy.

It is very easy for abuse of the plan to occur if only one person in the cabin buys the plan and shares it with the other person in the cabin. They can try and control it by having time limits between drink purchases but I think the cruise lines found that the best way to prevent abuse is the current policy.

Definitely a case of the majority being punished because of the behavior of the few.

 

[tx911]

The dining plan gives you a choice of non alcoholic drinks already.

Yes, but I'm not really interested in the "mocktails", and I don't think you get your money's worth if you are only drinking water or fountain drinks the way it is currently priced.

 

[Karin1984]

Anyone here who has an issue with splitting the bill in equal portions if the others have been drinking expensive alcoholic drinks, while you have been sipping soda?

Nowadays I avoid the issue by ordering the mocktails which are often just as expensive, but in the past I have suggested to each pay our own share.

 

[soccerdad72]

Anyone here who has an issue with splitting the bill in equal portions if the others have been drinking expensive alcoholic drinks, while you have been sipping soda?

Nowadays I avoid the issue by ordering the mocktails which are often just as expensive, but in the past I have suggested to each pay our own share.

Never really cared that much. If we're going out with a few other couples, we usually just each give our credit card and they split it evenly. I don't put much thought into how evenly it works out - I mean, someone could just as easily have a much more expensive entree, but in the end, I don't pay too much attention.

 

[Disneylover99]

Anyone here who has an issue with splitting the bill in equal portions if the others have been drinking expensive alcoholic drinks, while you have been sipping soda?

Nowadays I avoid the issue by ordering the mocktails which are often just as expensive, but in the past I have suggested to each pay our own share.

We always get separate bills.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Yes, but I'm not really interested in the "mocktails", and I don't think you get your money's worth if you are only drinking water or fountain drinks the way it is currently priced.

The current average cost of a fountain drink @ WDW is five dollars. Don’t know what bottled water costs though($4.00?). Current cost of beer and wine averages about 10.25 per glass. So basically two sodas equals one basic alcoholic bev. Only entitled to lower labor cost drinks at QS but the formula gets more complicated as you spend more money on the dining plans.
We've only ever done the third level of dining plan and I was more focused in getting a bang for our food buck rather than beverage; the industry figured out how to make lots of money on ANY kinds of drink decades ago. Noticing big changes in the dining plan we normally bought though.

 

[Shellsbutt]

Anyone here who has an issue with splitting the bill in equal portions if the others have been drinking expensive alcoholic drinks, while you have been sipping soda?

Nowadays I avoid the issue by ordering the mocktails which are often just as expensive, but in the past I have suggested to each pay our own share.

Yes-we've had to do this before when my husband and I have gotten together with a big group on New Years Eve. At first someone suggested we split our bill evenly-I spoke up, that's not fair, we didn't order drinks or apps. I realize you can't get 6 separate checks, lol. But you can figure out how much each couple owes, just takes a bit of math. We do care and pay attention because our budget is tight. We like to go out on occasion for a treat but we can't splurge and order drinks(not that we would anyway-we don't drink. It's usually just water for us and sometimes iced tea). We've stopped going out on New Years several years ago, the group has gotten too big and it's just a hassle.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I don’t make me crazed with bill splitting (divide check by amt of attendees) unless it’s obvious that someone is gaming the system over time. Then I have to wonder what I’m doing at the table with that person/s and just stop hanging out with them. I’ve one family member who does that regularly but since it’s sheer luck if she pays any portion of the bill I count myself lucky.

 

[BrianL]

I don’t make me crazed with bill splitting (divide check by amt of attendees) unless it’s obvious that someone is gaming the system over time. Then I have to wonder what I’m doing at the table with that person/s and just stop hanging out with them. I’ve one family member who does that regularly but since it’s sheer luck if she pays any portion of the bill I count myself lucky.

Whenever we have the bill split, it is always itemized. They never even ask about an even split - I wonder if it's a regional pratice. There are places where we don't split for ease (some places just don't really do it well), and in that case we just pay each other back for our portion and tip. I would not be expected to cover anyone's alcohol.

 

[Disneylover99]

Whenever we have the bill split, it is always itemized. They never even ask about an even split? I wonder if it's a regional pratice. There are places where we don't split for ease (some places just don't really do it well), and in that case we just pay each other back for our portion and tip. I would not be expected to cover anyone's alcohol.

Yeah. I wonder.

Bill splitting seems to be the norm around me. They always ask who’s together as we sit down and it doesn’t seem to be a big deal for the servers. If a few people are sharing a bottle of wine, they automatically divide the cost of the wine on the bills of the wine drinkers.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Yes-we've had to do this before when my husband and I have gotten together with a big group on New Years Eve. At first someone suggested we split our bill evenly-I spoke up, that's not fair, we didn't order drinks or apps. I realize you can't get 6 separate checks, lol. But you can figure out how much each couple owes, just takes a bit of math. We do care and pay attention because our budget is tight. We like to go out on occasion for a treat but we can't splurge and order drinks(not that we would anyway-we don't drink. It's usually just water for us and sometimes iced tea). We've stopped going out on New Years several years ago, the group has gotten too big and it's just a hassle.

We stopped going out on NYE unless on vac back in the ‘90s. Over priced drinks, badly prepared food, and everyone trying much too hard to have a good time. In the beginning since the man worked on the night I’d order a platter and various wines for the night and we stayed at the hotel. Eventually, it was decided we lived close enough that he didn’t have to stay on premises and I started prepping elaborate menus with wines to match for a few friends. Some of my best memories with people we knew we liked and certainly able to experiment with better wines since hardly anyone drives in NYC.

 

[Minnesota!]

Where I live a bottle of wine is a very normal gift for adults, without thinking about what they are giving.

One Christmas, at work every employee got a bottle of wine. They had kept in mind colleagues who were muslim, who got a box of chocolates.

I went to the manager and asked her what about people who do not drink, regardless the reason?

For me at the time alcohol was very triggering due to my father. I asked for a box of chocolates instead, but couldn't get one at first, because they only had bought 6 boxes, as we had 6 muslim colleagues.

I was not happy with that response and got vocal about it. In the end I could exchange my bottle of wine for a box of chocolates and I don't think they ever gave a bottle of wine ever again as a gift

Yeah, it took me having an issue with alcohol, to have an issue with alcohol.

This is our first year back to work Christmas gatherings since 2019 (got sober in 2020).

I have had to turn down every single one because they are all alcohol -based parties and I don't trust myself yet, cuz my mental health is crap lately.

I wish (or, maybe I don't?) that I could be social, but my sobriety is more important than a gathering

 

[Nagle]

on a scale of 1 to 10

14

 

[kerry1379]

I'm glad you asked this-I was wondering about something similar the other day, from a societal perspective. I don't drink for religous reasons but I also really don't care if others do. But lately I had been noticing a few things. The vast majority of country music songs feature alcohol rather prominently. All of my work parties are happy hours, and many of my friends and coworkers joke about "needing a drink." I also live in a state that prides itself very much on it's brewerys so it tends to be prominently featured at restaurants. Add to that, I have read quite a few Reddits lately where someone would ask if they were in the wrong because they held a party without alcohol and their guests complained. I think I can understand social drinking and those that enjoy a drink every now and then. But when I got to thinking about it, I started to wonder if our society has tipped too far and leans too much on alcohol. So it has been interesting to read everyone's responses on here. Thank you!